


Noah Hummel and Kurt Puckerman

by xlessxthanx3x



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-27
Updated: 2013-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-27 02:27:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/657050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xlessxthanx3x/pseuds/xlessxthanx3x
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU world where Noah was raised as a Hummel, strong and surrounded by love, and Kurt was raised as a Puckerman, bullied and abandoned by a deadbeat father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Noah Hummel and Kurt Puckerman

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the first Puckurt Week on tumblr, any AU.

Elizabeth cooed at the baby in her arms, the strong chin, the brown hair, the eyes surprisingly dark for a baby. Everything about her baby boy was absolutely perfect and wonderful. She looked up at Burt, her husband, and handed him the baby. One look at his face as he held his son told her all she needed to know; he thought he was perfect, too.

And they could both do anything and everything they could to keep him happy.

"So, since it's a boy," Elizabeth started, "We know that the middle name is Eli after me. Any daughter we possibly have will have the middle name from you."

"That _was_  the deal," Burt agreed, sitting down gingerly next to her, baby in his arms. "And  _you_  said that we would decide his name when you saw him. Though  _Burt_  seems like a rather good name."

Elizabeth shook her head at his grin but smiled all the same. "No, Mr. Hummel, we aren't breaking this deal."

"Well, Mrs. Hummel," Burt said, tilting the sleepy, wrinkled infant up to her, "What does he look like to you?"

Elizabeth tilted her head and inspected him. After a few moments she smiled and took her son back in her arms. "Noah."

Burt thought it over and nodded. "Noah Eli Hummel…sounds perfect." Elizabeth and Burt smiled at each other and then looked back at their sleeping boy. Nothing seemed more perfect than in that moment.

—

Naomi was exhausted from her 16 hours of labor—that  _had_  to be a record—but when they brought in her baby boy, she couldn't stop smiling. Even Elijah, her husband, gave a small smile instead of trying to find the nearest bar to drink his thoughts away or a guitar to jam and book a gig with.

Her baby boy was absolutely beautiful and perfect. Ten little fingers and toes, thick and dark hair, porcelain skin, button nose, and light eyes. Suddenly the Jewish names they had planned didn't seem very fitting. "I still want Elijah to be the middle name," Elijah said. "It's a family tradition, the boy taking the father's name as his middle name."

"I know," Naomi said quietly, "And I agree. Maybe we can name him after someone from my side of the family, make it even." Elijah raised his eyebrows for her to continue. "My great-grandfather was named Kurt and he always loved to see me."

Elijah smiled and looked down at the sleeping boy in his wife's arms. "Kurt Elijah Puckerman, welcome to the world."

—

"Come on, Noah, we have to get to your piano lesson!" Elizabeth called out into the house. After a few crashes and bangs, Noah ran down the stairs to her, piano book in hand.

"Ready!" he said brightly, grinning wide enough to show off his missing front tooth and Elizabeth couldn't help but grin back, even if the doctor's appointment she had just come from made her worried, the tone of her doctor seeming too heavy for just a simple test.

For now she could count the small blessings her son showed her everyday; his bright smile, his devilish good looks and charm, his easy nature with his father, his little curls, his natural ear for music, and even his rebellious nature made her smile.

She watched as he scampered out of her car door and into the music store for his lesson. Her little boy was growing more and more everyday, and while it scared her, she couldn't stop counting her blessings.

—

"No, no,  _no_ , Kurt, you have to press the strings harder than that!"

"But it  _hurts_ , dad," Kurt whined, lowering his head. His dad was trying to teach him guitar so he could be a rock star like his dad was, but his soft hands hurt when they pressed against the strings.

"Kurt, you build calluses. You keep pressing those strings hard and soon you'll get calluses like your dad." Elijah showed Kurt the tips of his fingers and Kurt frowned, thinking they were rather ugly and would ruin his skin (it was important to him, who cares if he was only six?). But he nodded, wanting to please his daddy, and pressed harder, his next strum actually sounding like a chord, causing him to beam.

"Did ya hear that, daddy?" Kurt exclaimed, his tiny face breaking into a large grin.

Elijah's smile at the correct E-chord morphed into a frown at Kurt's high, feminine voice calling him that. " _Dad_ ," Elijah corrected, "Call me _dad_. Little girls call their old mans  _daddy_ , little girls and sissies. You aren't a sissy, are you, Kurt?"

Kurt's eyes widened as his dad stared him down. He knew already that he was different from the other boys in his grade and that what was different had something to do with  _sissy_  and the other words kids at school and his dad called him. But he shook his head, "No, I'm a big boy."

Elijah nodded his head, "Good. Now do you remember the A-chord I taught you?"

—

Noah watched the coffin slowly lower into the ground. He wanted to cry but for some reasons the tears just wouldn't come out. Maybe it had something to do with him crying for months straight as his mom slowly started to fade away into nothing, or maybe it was because all of the people around him scared him too much to let his tears fall out. But all he knew was that his eyes were dry and it seemed wrong.

He turned and looked up at his dad, wondering what to do. After a moment, Burt looked back down at Noah and took his hand in his, squeezing it softly. Suddenly, Noah knew everything would be okay.

—

Kurt knew things weren't okay, he had known that for a while. He had hoped that the birth of his sister, Sara, would help, but it had been almost a year and the screams and shouts between his ma and his dad were just getting worse, as were the names his dad kept calling him, which only made his ma yell more.

He curled up into a ball and pulled his blanket over him tight, closing his eyes to stop from crying; if his dad knew he was crying he would hate him even more.

"You aren't a rock star, Elijah, I don't care what you think you are, but you  _aren't_ ," Naomi shouted. "You know what you are? A husband to a devoted wife, a great help down at the office, the father of two  _beautiful_  children—"

"Beautiful?" Elijah slurred, obviously a bit drunk. "One beautiful girl and one fucking  _faggot_ —"

Kurt heard a slap and a thud and he curled up tighter, afraid that his dad and hit his ma. But soon he heard Naomi say sharply, "Don't you _dare_  call him that."

"You're really choosing his side over me?" Elijah laughed. "You know everyone at temple disapproves of him."

"They definitely don't," Naomi replied, "And if they do, there's a nice little Reform temple on the other side of town I will gladly go to. Our son doesn't deserve judgment."

" _Our_  son? He looks nothin' like me. Bet you fucked some Anglican—" there was another cry of pain from Elijah, "Don't you kick me, you bitch!"

"Leave," Naomi said, her voice strong as possible. "And don't you dare come back until you know how lucky you are."

Kurt started sobbing silently, knowing that this was the very end. He heard his dad go to the master bedroom to gather his things and then the slam of the door and the start of an engine as he left.

The door creaked open one more time and Naomi shouted, "Have fun trying to make in show business when you hate gay people!"

—

Noah bit nervously on a hangnail as he and his dad watched the game between the KU and Duke. Well, his dad was watching; he was trying to work up the courage to say what he needed to tell him a long time ago. While he was only 16, he felt like he had known forever now.

Finally half-time hit and Burt turned to him. "What's wrong, kid? You're not cheering for Duke suddenly, right?"

"Oh, God, Dad,  _no_!" Noah protested, making a face. "That's, like, worse than Nazism."

Burt nodded, "Just checkin'. But seriously, what's up?"

Noah looked down at his drink and took a deep breath, "Okay, I don't want you to get mad, but I've been thinking about this a lot and I know it'll probably be a shock but…Dad, I like girls  _and_  guys."

Burt looked at Noah blankly which just made him more nervous. Was he going to be kicked out of the house or forced to go to some brainwashing camp or something? But finally his dad just said, "As long as you don't cheer for Duke."

Noah gaped, "Wait…you're okay with this?"

"Well, I'm not thrilled with the idea," Burt said, "But I still love you. You're my son." Then he grinned, "Plus I think you forgot that your mom and I walked in on you basically putting all of your moves on the Hudson kid when you guys were three; I've been expecting his for a while."

"Oh…" Noah thought back and couldn't really remember it, but he was sure his dad wasn't lying. "Can't believe I didn't woo him, then."

"Pretty sure he's straight, son, and even  _you_  aren't that good," Burt said, turning back to the game. Then he added, "I swear I can't even enjoy watching the Duke  _cheerleaders_."

—

Kurt looked up nervously at his Ma and Sara, both sitting across from him as they had dinner at the table instead of in front of the TV for once (at his insistence they did so at least twice a week). He had no idea why he was so nervous, he had known he was gay for years and had been going to Scandals under the guise of going to Rachel's for months now, no longer a virgin, and he knew that everyone else knew. But actually acknowledging the elephant in the room might cause it to attack for all he knew. But he cleared his throat and clinked his water glass to get their attention. When they looked up, he put on his confident mask, the one he always wore at school while the bullies taunted him, and primly stood up.

"I know you two have been waiting for this announcement for a while, but due to some scarring issues, I've only been able to said it out loud to you two until now," Kurt started. Then he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "Ma, Sara, I'm gay." He immediately opened his eyes and sat back down.

Naomi smiled at her son and grasped his hand from across the table. "I'm so proud of you, Kurt."

"Pass the potatoes," Sara said, not even reacting to the news. Kurt rolled his eyes and passed the bowl.

Later, after Sara went to bed, Kurt turned to his mother. It was difficult to say, even more than coming out, but he slowly said, "Ma…I never told you this, but…but I was awake the night dad left. And he left because of me, I know he did, and I just wanted you to know I'm so sorry that I—"

"Kurt, stop it," Naomi said sharply. At his hurt look she softened and cooed, " _Bubbala_ , your dad and I had problems long before you were born. He thought he could be a rock star and that's why he yelled at me, because he thought I was holding him back. I was putting up with all of his idiocy until he called you  _that word_  and…" her jaw tensed and she put an hand on Kurt's shoulder and looked him dead in the eye.

"I used to think it was wrong, Kurt, I did, I thought it was a sin. Your dad and I were raised in a conservative Jewish temple and had old-fashioned values, right down to the wedding dress that covered my elbows. But when you were born, I knew I would love you no matter what. And then you showed signs of being gay and I tried to deny it, we both did, but I realized that no matter what, I would still love you, and as soon as I saw the Berry's at the new temple, I knew what I had been taught was wrong and that you were perfectly natural. And if that son of a bitch doesn't realize that, he doesn't deserve to have such a wonderful son as you."

Kurt gave her a small half-smile and pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly. "I love you, Ma."

"I love you, too, Kurt." When they pulled apart, Naomi wiped at her eyes, "Now go tell Rachel, I'm sure she'll be excited to know you finally got the  _chutzpah_  to tell me."

—

Despite being attracted to guys, Noah never felt the pull to go out with any guys he knew. They were all kind of assholes and they definitely never would take it  _up_  the asshole, as he joked with Finn. In fact, the only gay kid he knew was Kurt Puckerman, the kid all his teammates (except for the ones who joined Glee club) picked on for being so dramatically gay. Noah saved the guy from dumpster dives and slushie attacks when he could, but he really didn't feel anything for the guy at first.

Sure, they were in Glee club together, but he was only in there because he had an interest in performing from his mom, not like Puckerman and Berry's jazz fingers and Barbra, more like Mellencamp and the Beatles. It was a nice way to get to practice his singing and play the piano, the ways he felt closest to his mother, it wasn't a way to get closer to the only other non-straight guy he knew. Puckerman made him laugh and seemed like a cool dude, if a bit uptight, but he was just a friend, and not even a close one.

Kurt just didn't seem like a good fit, either. He was quite bitchy, probably some sort of taking his anger against the world at everyone else. Whereas Noah had been slightly spoiled by his dad (and mom when she was alive), including a nice car and being showered with love and attention, everyone knew that Puckerman, despite his designer knock-offs, wasn't very well off in terms of money. He lost a parent due to the guy just leaving, an issue he was sensitive about, and he was from the wrong side of the tracks. While Noah stuck to a few serious girlfriends and a hookup or two on the side, Kurt had been known to hook up with guys from Scandals, the local gay club, probably trying to find some warmth and love and approval he didn't feel at home (at least that's what Noah assumed from his psychology books). There was no need to really give Kurt any attention past sort-of friends.

And, as he reminded his dad over and over again, he thought guys were attractive, but that didn't mean he was going to end up with one. For all he knew, he'd end up with a chick just like his dad (who was now dating Carole Hudson, leaving both father and son laughing; Noah didn't get the guy but Burt got the guy's mother). Noah was plenty happy with where things were in his life.

But then things started to change. Kurt started to look older, he started branching out from his best friend, Rachel, and showing his personality to the Glee club. He was smart, funny, and actually kinder than he seemed at first glance. Noah started to enjoy a bit more, but he didn't see a reason to start going after him just so he could try out cock.

Then Kurt joined those damn Cheerios. That was a problem.

One, all Cheerios wanted Noah Hummel whether they knew it or not. And, two, Kurt looked way too damn hot in his Cheerio outfit.

—

"'Sup, Puck?"

Kurt turned around in what  _was_  an empty choir room and glared at the grinning Noah Hummel. "I don't know what has gotten into your head _Hummel_ , but my name is  _Kurt_." He then gave his friend—all of the Glee club was his friend on some level, after all, even the ones like Noah Hummel who was nothing like him—a small smile and went back to his guitar, tuning the rest of the strings.

"Yeah, well, you tried going by that for a while, didn't you?"

"Until people started chanting 'Puck likes to Suck' and thrust their crotches at me, yeah, I did," Kurt said nonchalantly. He went back to playing his guitar, just ignoring the boy in front of him.

"You know, guitar is something I never really expected you to know," Noah said as he sat at the piano bench across from him. "You and Rachel are so obsessed with Broadway and stuff, and you're, y'know,  _you_. Would've expected piano or something."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm not just a walking stereotype, Noah, I'm my own person." He lowered his head, slowly strumming a chord, "I would've thought you of all people would know that seeing as, despite being a jock, you never felt the need to throw me in the dumpster to prove your manliness."

"Yeah, well, my dad would've killed me if he found out I did something like that."

Kurt snorted, "Nice to know that's the only reason why you didn't try to ruin my outfits."

"No, dude, not like that," Noah explained. "He would've killed me because he taught me never to take advantage of people who are weaker than me. I would've been pissed at myself if I did that, too; Hummel's don't get pushed around but we definitely don't push others around for fun."

The other boy looked back up at him for a while, then back at his guitar, not sure what to make of that. "Well, my dad taught me guitar. That's about all he taught me: well,  _that_  and how to be a homophobic jerk," Kurt said.

Now it was Noah's turn to not know what to make of that. "Oh," he said, sensing that Kurt was slightly pleased that he was stunned into silence, so he finally said, calm and matter-of-fact over Kurt's soft strumming, "You're kind of a bitch, aren't you?"

Kurt's fingers clenched around his pick and he looked up at Noah, his eyes glaring yet again and his jaw set and tight, "You're kind of an attention-seeking asshole, aren't you?"

The swear word sounded foreign in Kurt's mouth, his voice too pretty and lyrical to say such a foul word. Noah found perverse pleasure in how wrong it sounded coming from his mouth.

Noah shrugged, "That's what they say, and maybe they're right."

"Oh, they're definitely right," Kurt agreed, strumming minor chords on his guitar. "An attention-seeking asshole who probably wouldn't mind something up his asshole, am I right?"

Noah raised an eyebrow. No one ever suspected his sexuality, or at least they never called him out on it. But now Kurt was looking at him with a raised chin and a smirk forming and he shrugged. "I saw myself as more of a top, but I'm willing to try that if it gets me off."

Kurt made an  _hmm_  noise and then went back to his guitar, completely uninterested (though Noah hoped he was just feigning disinterest).

After a few more moments of Kurt strumming, Noah caught onto the chord progression and started playing the chords with him on the piano. Kurt looked up at Noah smiled, playing the melody of the song with his right hand. Kurt smiled in spite of himself as Noah embellished the melodic line and both boys sang the final chorus, " _Sweet Caroline, good times never seemed so good. I've been inclined to believe they never would, no, no, no._ " Noah played a final chord but Kurt embellished a small solo on his own before finally resolving the chord, both boys smiling and laughing softly, the ice finally broken in the room.

"You know, we're pretty musically compatible," Noah said.

"I guess you could say that," Kurt agreed.

Noah gave Kurt his best charming look and suggested, "Maybe we should see if we're romantically compatible sometime."

Kurt laughed for a moment until he realized the boy was serious, then he stood up and looked at him in a mix or horror and disgust, "You dated  _Rachel_. She's like my sister, Noah, I've known her since I was  _eight_ , she was my first friend at the Reform temple." He started putting his guitar away and continued, "And you went out with her and held her hand and made out a  _lot_ —she told me the details! I can't date you!"

"Funny how you just bring up that but not, I don't know, the fact that I'm an 'attention-seeking asshole', as you so put it," Noah pointed out, "I think you're just making excuses."

Kurt opened and shut his mouth repeatedly, trying to think of words to say, but his mind stopped working as Noah got closer and closer. His hand groped for his guitar case, but instead he just stared into Noah's eyes, hypnotized as the boy said, "I like the fire in you, Puckerman, and I like that you're musical. I like your eyes, I like your hair, and I really like that little ass of yours."

Kurt blushed and finally said, "If you aren't even out—"

"I'm out to my dad, and he's the most important person in my life. I don't care how anyone reacts since I have him. Plus, I'm a freaking Hummel; no one's going to mess with me, like I said," Noah pointed out.

"You like Quinn," Kurt said, "You dated Rachel to make her jealous just like she dated you to make Finn jealous."

"I  _liked_  her, past tense," Noah said. "Are you really trying to talk me out of it, Puckerman, or are you just to scared to take all of this," he gestured to his body, "on?"

Kurt let out a snort, even thought he definitely found Noah's body nice to look at and knew he had major abandonment issues that scared him for something like this. "I'm not scared of anything, especially not a little boy who wants some action from the finest ass in town."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Prove it," Noah whispered, inches away from Kurt's lips.

Kurt rolled his eyes and grabbed Noah's Mohawk, mashing their lips together. The kiss was different than any other he had with any guy at Scandals, a bit softer, sweeter. Instead of just wanting in his pants, it seemed Noah actually wanted  _something_  more from it. Maybe he could try this date with Noah and just get a few kisses over it and call it good. He didn't have to commit to anything after all.

When they pulled away, Noah looked just about as pleased as Kurt felt about the kiss. But Kurt just smirked, his bitch act back on. "My house, seven o'clock this Friday. Be on time and ready to meet my family and take me to a restaurant—you're paying." Kurt grabbed his guitar by the handle and walked out of the room, moving his hips to show off his "little ass", as Noah put it.

Noah smirked and watched him go; he totally had this in the bag.

—

Over the rest of the week, Noah kept talking with Kurt more and more, laughing at his snarky comments and making Kurt laugh with his own goofy ones. It seemed impossible to Kurt, but when Friday night came up, he was actually looking forward to more than just the possibility of a make out.

"But we're so different, how does this even work?" Kurt whined to Rachel as he inspected himself in the mirror in his fifth different outfit of the night.

"Opposites attract, that's what they always say."

"Yeah, but that doesn't work in the real world; your dads are basically the same person," Kurt pointed out, trying to inspect his butt in the skinnies he was wearing. "And every couple at the temple is like that, too; they're all the same people, just different genitalia. That opposites attract thing is such BS."

Rachel shrugged, "Maybe you two are more similar than you think." She sat down on his bed and looked up at the ceiling in thought, "You both grew up with one parent after a major tragedy, you both love music, you both love your family…"

"…And he loves football and I find it boring, he doesn't have a fashion taste to speak of, he thinks musicals are dumb, and for all I know he's a virgin," Kurt added on with a roll of his eyes.

"Those differences might just add some fire and passion to your romance," Rachel said. Then she smiled triumphantly, "Like me and Finn! We're different and yet you think we work well together, right?"

Kurt jut his lower lip out in annoyance but nodded. Finn and Rachel were complete opposites in almost every way possible, even in height, yet they both worked so well together. "Fine. But if this goes poorly, I'm blaming you and you're supplying the ice cream."

Rachel nodded, "Of course, Kurt. I'll be here waiting with a pint of Ben and Jerry's whether your date goes well or not. And not just because I'm taking over Sara duty for you."

Kurt rolled his eyes as Rachel laughed at her joke but still muttered, "Thanks, Rach." He leaned into the mirror and pulled back with a pout, "I need a different outfit—"

"Don't you  _dare,_  Kurt Puckerman!" Rachel yelped, jumping in his path to block him entrance from the closet. "You've been in and out of the closet more times than an indecisive bisexual."

"A joke from your dads?"

"Papa changes clothes a lot and Daddy gets annoyed," Rachel nodded. With a smirk she added, "Plus if you don't think Noah is worth it, why are you working so hard to dress right and impress him?"

"...Shut up!" Kurt said.

The two finally left Kurt's room and went downstairs to find Sara and Naomi on the couch. "Ma, don't you have work soon?"

"Like I'm going to miss my baby boy's first real date!" Naomi cooed, grabbing Kurt's cheek while Sara and Rachel giggled. Naomi knew her son wasn't as innocent as he looked, but she still liked to pretend.

"Ma!" he cried out, slapping her hand away.

"Oh, I'm just teasing," Naomi said, "I just want to at least see the young  _goy_  before I go. Though Noah seems like a very Jewish name for a Gentile."

"You named me  _Kurt_."

"…Touché," Naomi laughed. "No, but you know a Jewish boy would be my first choice, but finding Jewish kids here is hard enough, finding a gay boy is even harder, I know. I just want you to be happy and to have plenty of Jewish babies through a surrogate."

"Ma, we haven't even gone on a date, we're not going to have kids any time soon," Kurt sighed as Naomi kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, Mrs. Puckerman, Kurt has no interest in Noah, that's why he spent an hour going through five outfits to get ready for this," Rachel teased, Sara giggling at her brother's expense.

Before Kurt could retort, the doorbell rang and Sara jumped out of her seat, "I got it!" Kurt's eyes widened at the idea of Sara talking to Noah, especially when she loudly said, "Hi, you must be Noah! Kurtie has gone through five outfits trying to get ready for tonight!"

"Oh God," Kurt muttered as Noah laughed quietly. Seconds later he was in the living room with everyone else, Sara finally letting go of his hand.

Noah looked at Kurt with a smile, a sense of wonder on his face, "You look great, Kurt."

Before Kurt could so much as say thanks, Naomi thrust her hand at Noah, "Noah, I'm Naomi Puckerman, Kurt's mom. I have to get to work, but take care of my little  _bubbala_."

"Ma," Kurt whispered harshly at her. She simply ignored him and kissed his cheek, telling him to be back by midnight so Rachel could be relieved from Sara duty.

—

Despite Noah getting Kurt a hot dog—very non-Kosher—at the movie theater and Breadstix being too full so they had to resort to fast food, both boys had a great time on their date. Kurt even got his make out in the car, Noah's hands tentatively exploring Kurt's hair and back and Noah moving Kurt's hands if he got too frisky.

For a while only Kurt, Noah, Sara, Naomi, and Rachel knew. Then Rachel told Finn and while Kurt gave her an earful for that, Noah shrugged it off; Finn was his best friend and if he didn't care that he was dating Kurt Puckerman, the bitchy Jew from the wrong side of the tracks, it didn't matter. Then the two became too friendly in Glee club so they just said, "We're dating." While the club didn't expect Noah to be interested in a guy, they let it slide. What did it matter to them?

That led, however, to the whole school knowing. While Kurt felt self-conscious about everyone talking about him, his bullying decreased slightly—no one messed around with a Hummel or whoever was dating a Hummel—and it was nice to know that if he wanted to kiss Noah before a class or hold his hand in lunch, not that he ever did. PDA wasn't his cup of tea.

Then they had one person left to tell: Burt Hummel. Kurt nervously fidgeted as they waited for Burt to get back from work until Noah pressed his lips against his and despite the slight dizzy feeling Noah's kisses gave him, he could finally breathe.

And that's how Burt first saw Kurt. Kurt squeaked in embarrassment and pulled away after Burt said, "Well hello stranger making out with my boy on the couch."

"Dad," Noah warned. Burt grinned to show he was kidding and the boys stood up. "Dad, this is Kurt Puckerman."

Burt shook Kurt's hand, "Puckerman? I think I went to school with your father. You're Elijah's boy?"

Kurt tensed at the mention of his dad and his middle name's sake. "Well, I  _was_  his boy. Until he left town."

Noah rubbed Kurt's shoulder comfortingly despite Kurt stiffening more at the contact and Burt apologized, leading Kurt to say, "Sorry, I shouldn't have…sorry."

Some moments of awkward silence followed until Burt followed up with, "So you must be Naomi's boy then, too." Kurt grinned at the conversation flowed easily from there.

—

The first  _I love you_  came from Noah.

The boys were hanging out at the mall in the food court, Kurt pointing out fashion mistakes and making snarky comments that Noah couldn't help but laugh at. After a particularly catty comment about a girl's bad dye job, Noah laughed and said, "Kurt, I love you."

Kurt turned to Noah, his eyes widening, "What?"

"I love you," Noah said. "I mean, it's cool if you don't say it yet, I just wanted you to know."

Kurt watched him for a while longer but finally said, "We should get home…I need to watch Sara soon."

"Oh…okay," Noah said, grabbing his keys. He was almost one hundred percent sure that Naomi didn't work nights on Saturdays.

The ride to Kurt's house was a long and silent one, Kurt staring out the window and fidgeting while Noah tried to think of what he did wrong. When they pulled up to Kurt's driveway he had the same feeling he had every time he was there, how Kurt just seemed so sophisticated yet he lived in a poorer part of Lima (not that there were any rich parts of Lima). He just knew Kurt could've easily gone down a wrong path yet, somehow, he managed to stay on the right track, past hook ups aside.

Noah admired him for that. Noah  _loved_  him for that.

"Okay, Kurt…g'night."

"'Night," Kurt said, letting Noah quickly kiss him on the cheek before hopping out of the car and going inside without so much as a backwards glance.

The next Monday Kurt pulled him aside and said they needed to break up, no explanation, not even a smidge of eye contact. He tried arguing with Kurt but he just left, avoiding Noah for the rest of the day. He didn't even show up to Glee club.

After practice he pulled Rachel aside. "Do you know why Kurt broke up with me?"

She raised her eyebrows in shock. "Kurt broke up with you? What? The other day he was telling me how happy he was with you."

Noah sighed heavily, "I thought he was, too, but I told him I loved him and he freaked out and won't talk to me now."

Suddenly, Rachel's face lit up with realization and she gave Noah a soft but condescending smile. "I'll get him to meet you at the Lima Bean and you can talk it out. It's something you should find out for yourself."

Noah didn't like the sound of that, but, right at seven, he was in the Lima Bean. A few minutes later, Kurt walked in and when he spotted Noah, he rolled his eyes, muttered " _Rachel_ " and left.

Noah wasn't taking it this time, though. He ran out after him, catching up to him before he could open his car door. "Kurt, what the heck is going on with you?"

"We're over, Hummel, I told you that," Kurt said, turning to open the beat up old truck he had managed to buy from his odd jobs he took throughout the school year.

"Yeah, but why?" Noah asked. "It makes no sense, Kurt, what did I do wrong to you?"

"Nothing…everything…I…" Kurt finally managed to get the door open, and jammed his keys into the ignition and hopped in. But Noah stood in between the door and the rest of the car, blocking Kurt from closing the door.

"Kurt, answer me; I deserve to know what I did."

Kurt tried starting the car but the engine made a rumble and trailed off, not starting. Kurt tried it again and when it failed, he hit the steering wheel in a fit of anger and turned to Noah. "You know what you did wrong? Nothing, absolutely  _nothing_  except for thinking that falling for me was a good idea. You could have some happy life with a girl and two-point-five kids in a suburban household, you could be normal and happy and you want to throw your life away to be with me. How long until you realize that I'm not worth it and that I  _never_  will be? I have a beat up old car, I live in the bad part of town, I've never been in a relationship, I'm destined to be a loser just like my dad, Noah, even  _worse_  because I wasn't even good enough for  _him_." Kurt kicked the dashboard for a dramatic effect and put his head in his hands, slightly embarrassed at listing off all of those insecurities he kept hidden.

Noah watched him for a while before sighing, figuring he should start with the smallest problem. "Do you have any of your Diet Coke with you?" Kurt nodded. When Noah took the soda from the cup holder Kurt tried to protest but Noah just said, "Open the hood." Kurt, after a bit of scrambling to remember where it was, did so and pulled his keys out to stand next to Noah, closing the door to his truck while Noah inspected the engine.

"Yep, definitely just a small corrosion. Here, check this out," Noah said, uncapping the drink and pouring a bit on the battery. Kurt started to yell at him until he saw what was happening; the oil and rust coated on the battery started bubbling away. "Neat, huh?" Noah said, smiling at Kurt's awed expression.

"Well, I'm definitely never drinking Diet Coke again," Kurt said, though he still took the bottle back and took a swig. Noah and Kurt laughed at the habit, the chuckles fading into silence. Noah embraced the silken for a while until he took Kurt's hands in his.

"Let's talk, okay?"

The two boys went back into the Lima Bean, Kurt soon holding a cup of medium drip and Noah nursing a hot chocolate, both in to-go cups. In between sips of coffee, Kurt finally talked to Noah about the things he had never shared with him as they walked around town, Kurt too restless to sit down and explain things he told Noah.

He talked about how his dad had mocked him the first eight years of his life. He told Noah about his first night at Scandals, how he finally felt like he was worthy of something ("Typical Freudian nature, I guess"). He told him how he had never felt good enough, that even though he knew he'd be a star one day he didn't  _really_  know. He even admitted what all happened the night his dad left, the screams and hits and the word  _faggot_  finally being uttered in front of his mom even though he had called Kurt that several times before, before Kurt even knew what it meant.

Noah was supportive, letting Kurt just talk without interruption. When Kurt finished, instead of trying to say  _it's going to be okay, you're alright, you're great_ , Noah started telling Kurt more about him. He told him about how his love of music was because of its connection to his mom. He told Kurt about coming out to his dad. Noah talked about how he wasn't sure he really believed in a God that would hurt his people so much. He even admitted that part of why he felt the need to come out was his long-standing crush on Finn and how he was sure that was part of why he went after Quinn, to have something Finn had.

It was three AM when they finally were back at the Lima Bean, cups still in their hands, their phone logs filled with missed calls asking where the hell they were. But as they hugged before parting ways for the rest of the night, Kurt finally whispered into Noah's ear, "I love you, too."

—

Sex didn't happen for a while.

Noah helped Kurt take it slow unlike what he was used to while Kurt helped Noah slowly improve his techniques. After weeks and months of grinding and hand jobs and blowjobs and, finally, some finger action, they both felt completely ready to try it together for the first time.

It was decided that Kurt would bottom for the first time since Noah still had limited experience in being stretched out (and, as Kurt joked, "I've already had your uncircumcised dick in my mouth, might else well stuff your non-Kosher cock up my ass"). Although both were negative for STI's and HIV they still bought a pack of condoms along with their bottle of lube. In Noah's basement room in the Hummel house, Kurt laid himself out and let Noah slowly stretch him out with lubed up fingers, his fingers careful and purposeful, Kurt soon keening and mewling for Noah's cock.

Now Noah Hummel was definitely  _big_  but Kurt took it all in, his toes curling and his mouth slack and letting out the most delicious moans. The rest of the sessions that happened that weekend while Burt was out of town didn't go that slow, Kurt getting his well-trained boyfriend to fuck him hard.

A few weeks later, Noah finally got curious enough with how much Kurt liked it to try it himself. Kurt went as slow as possible, slightly nervous and beyond excited himself to try topping, something he never was before as the Star Twink at Scandals. When Kurt slowly put his lubed up cock inside Noah, the dynamic they had suddenly shifted, Noah begging for  _more_  and  _harder_  and Kurt thrusting in wildly.

They lied in the afterglow for a while. They loved each other, they had a great sex life, and no matter how they had been hurt before, they had each other now.

That was really all that mattered.

—

Kurt put his phone in his pocket, just receiving a text that Rachel was almost there. He leaned against the car stuffed full of his and Noah's bags, smiling as he waited for Noah to come back outside with their families, their families that had started out as three separate entities that now made up one large family. He laughed as Noah charged out with Sara, now ten, on his back, the girl giggling despite the tears she kept crying throughout the past week. His ma walked out with Burt and Carole, now married, and Finn. A second later, Rachel drove up in her little pink car, Hiram and Leroy trailing behind her in their own car.

"I can't believe we're finally going to college," Rachel squealed, grabbing Kurt's hand, "New York City, the bright lights, Broadway—"

"The tests, the papers, the all-nighters," Hiram added. Finn laughed and pushed his last bag into Noah's car. "Sorry we couldn't make the goodbye brunch, by the way, I'm sure it was delicious, but Rachel just  _had_  to remember one last box of sheet music to pack" Hiram added to Carole and Naomi.

"It's important, Papa!" Rachel insisted before turning to the women, "But I'm sorry I missed it, too."

"You missed Ma's latkes," Kurt said, Rachel frowning at that, "But at least you missed some of the pre-tears that happened."

"Can I help that I'm upset that my baby is going to NYU? I'm going to miss you so much," she cooed, hugging him tightly.

" _Maaa_!" Kurt whined, pulling away. "It's not that far of a drive. And all four of us our living together as Rachel goes to NYADA and Finn goes to CUNY and Noah being ahead of all of us and going to the Manhattan School of Music as a Jazz Studies major." He stuck his tongue out at Noah and Noah just shrugged with a smile like he always did every time they teased each other about their impressive school choices. Then Kurt added, "And you'll barely realize I'm gone with Sara here anyways." He ruffled her hair and, like her big brother, frowned and primped it back up as she pulled away.

"Come on, it's picture time," Carole said. The teenagers grumbled but complied. They decided on some family pictures first. The Berry's went first, Rachel in between her dads, all three of them hitting various poses they had perfected over the years. Next Carole handed the camera to Naomi and she, Finn, Burt, and Noah took their combined family photo. Kurt had to admit at times he felt jealous about how complete they looked together, the typical all-American suburban family, but Kurt and Noah just took both of their insecurities one day at a time. Then the Puckerman's took their picture, Kurt leaning his elbow on Sara and Naomi draping her left arm around his shoulders.

Then came the teen pictures (Sara joining half-way through), Rachel and Kurt, Noah and Finn, Rachel and Finn, and, finally, Noah and Kurt, candid photos in between. Finally the drive couldn't be put off anymore and they had to leave. All the teenagers went down the line. Kurt hugged his mentors, the Berry's, and told them thank you for everything; he hugged Carole for accepting Noah and then himself by default; he hugged Burt for being more of a dad than his own had ever been; and then Kurt hugged Sara and his mom at once, all three of them tearing up until Noah finally pulled Kurt away.

Noah got into the driver's seat and Kurt got in the car next to him as Finn squeezed into Rachel's tiny car and Rachel got behind the wheel. As they drove off, Kurt waved at his family, tears spilling out of his eyes at leaving his sister and mom behind. But when they faded into the distance, Kurt turned to Noah and felt that comfort he had grown to know. Kurt turned the iPod to "Sweet Caroline", their song, and watched the Lima landscape slowly go away. Reaching for Noah's right hand with ease they sang along, ready to make it into the world. Noah Hummel and Kurt Puckerman were hitting the Big Apple; he just hoped the Big Apple was ready for them.


End file.
